Heat on Doha climate conference to extend Kyoto protocol

Tuesday, 27 Nov 2012, 05:53

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Representatives from almost 200 nations have gathered in Doha for the latest round of talks on climate change.

The host nation is the first OPEC state to host the annual meeting and the country with the world’s highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions reckoned to be around three times those of the average American.

The 17,000 delegates will focus on an extension to the United Nations Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding plan for cutting emissions by developed nations.

“I hope that parties will agree to take bold actions on the basis of the report and the recommendations of the co-chairs that can tackle this issue to the next level,” the outgoing president, South African Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, told delegates.

Increasing emissions are set to lead to a rise in temperatures of between three and five degrees a U.N. study said in advance of the meeting.

But it is predicted delegates will fail to agree any meaningful extension to the Kyoto Protocol. On the agenda too is a discussion on a pact to start in 2020 to bind all countries not just in the developed world to curb emissions.